The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has denied the government's motion to lift the nationwide preliminary injunction against the contractor vaccine mandate, which was issued on December 7 by a federal court in Georgia. The 11th Circuit did not address the merits of the case, but found that the government did not show that it would suffer "an irreparable injury absent a stay" of the prior order. 

The court set an expedited briefing schedule, requiring the government's brief by January 3, responses by January 17, and any replies by January 24. The case will be set for the next available oral argument. Thus, contractors can expect that this nationwide stay will remain in effect for at least another month.

In other contractor-vaccine-mandate news, a federal judge in Missouri has issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of the mandate in the states of Arkansas, Alabama, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.